Friday, 24 February 2012

Food waste recycling

All Local
Authorities are required by the Scottish Government to provide a food waste collection service by 2013. The Scottish Government has provided £1.3 million funding to enable this in Edinburgh.

In spring 2011 a trial was launched to 50,000 households primarily in low
rise properties. This includes a mix of housing types such as detached,
semi-detached, terraced, main door tenements and upto 12 in a block tenements and flats.

The service is now to be rolled out
to the remaining 90,000 low rise properties by Spring
2012. Some estimates suggest Edinburgh could divert
up to 20,000 tonnes of food waste every year saving £1m in landfill
tax. That averages out around 41 kilos of food waste per person in a year (or just under 4 ounces per day). The landfill saving is around £2 per person per year (though I don't have figures for the additional cost of a separate collection, and transporting the food waste to Cumbernauld (see below). Here are the details of current plans to extend this collection

the first phase will be rolled-out
in Colinton, Trinity, Newington, Grange, Inch, Duddingston and
Cramond

all households in low rise
properties will be given a starter pack that includes a kitchen caddy, food
waste bin (for kerbside collection areas), compostable liners and an information
leaflet/calendar

households will receive a food waste
collection once a week on the same day as their current kerbside red and blue
box collection

the Council's refuse collection
staff will be collecting food waste from householders (during the pilots, Palm
Recycling carried out the collection)

food waste will be taken to Scottish
Water Horizons at Deerdykes in Cumbernauld where it will be turned into
bio-fertiliser and compost

Comment: I wonder whether separate collections are worth the candle bearing in mind the figures above. Of course we now have laws which say it must be done. At least the Scottish Governmenthas provided some money. Wait a minute. It is our money we gave them on trust!